The present invention is in the field of toilet seats, toilet seat covers, and associated hinge arrangements and is particularly directed to a specific hinge, seat, and cover arrangement and a method of forming same.
Soft toilet seats and soft toilet seat covers have previously been formed with a rigid plastic, pressed wood, fiber-board, or wood composition bed plate over which a foam cushion member is provided with the entire enclosure being covered with a vinyl skin. Soft toilet seats and soft toilet seat covers of the foregoing type have been connected to hinge members which are in turn connected to the toilet bowl at installation. The hinge members have had pivotal portions extending beneath the seat or the seat cover with attachment screws extending through the pivotal portions into the underside of the seat for connection to the rigid bed plate. The foregoing construction has not proven to be universally satisfactory in that the attachment screws sometimes become loose and corroded the provision of the attachment means on the lower side of the seat provides a haven for contamination.
The use of connecting screws for effecting connection of the hinge to the seat and/or cover as has been the case in the past necessarily includes a substantial labor expense for fabrication. Also, the fact that the seat cover is supported at its rear edge by hinge components attached to the bottom of the seat cover with the forward end of the seat cover being supported by the seat causes the seat cover to tend to bend when a person sits on it. The cover will consequently sometimes eventually become permanently bowed.
Therefore, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a new and improved means for effecting the connection between hinge means and toilet seats and toilet seat covers.
A further object of the invention is the provision of a new and improved toilet seat, toilet seat cover, and hinge combination requiring minimal labor for fabrication.
Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved hinge means and soft toilet seat and soft toilet seat cover combination.
A further object of the invention is a new and improved method of molding rigid plastic items.